The University of Louisville, in collaboration with the University of Kentucky, will lead the development of the Kentucky Infrastructure for Biomedical Research excellence (KY-INBRE). The goal of this KY-INBRE proposal is to build on the successes of the existing KY-BRIN, its infrastructure and its network of biomedical researchers, to increase the capacity for research in Kentucky. The plan is to build a research core that will provide 11 researchers with the necessary support to become competitive for independent federal funding within 5 years. The research core will consist of 10 researchers in the 4 public comprehensive universities, Northern Kentucky University, Western Kentucky University, Eastern Kentucky University and Morehead State University, one junior researcher at the University of Louisville, and will include the recruitment of a neuroscience faculty member to Western Kentucky University. This core will initially contain a portfolio of 7 genomics and 4 neuroscience research projects. The research core will be supported through further development of the centralized genomics and bioinformatics facilities at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky. These facilities contain open access tools and resources that are critical to the success of Kentucky research institutions as a whole in their pursuit of research excellence. A steering committee will guide the development of the KY-INBRE, faculty mentors will guide the career development goals of the PIs, and an external advisory committee of experts will provide critique of the INBRE-progress. An outreach core will provide opportunities in summer research for undergraduate students in the 13 affiliated institutions of the KY-BRIN. This core will continue to develop the pipeline from undergraduate institutions to the graduate level programs in biomedical research, and it will complement the activities of the research core, where students will become engaged in research, its excitement, its challenges and its rewarding career opportunities. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]